1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a selector lever arrangement for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle, comprising a selector lever mounted in a housing on the vehicle floor to be pivotable about a horizontal transverse axle and means connecting the lever to a linkage leading to the automatic gearbox.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A selector lever arrangement for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle of this kind is known from German Patent 19 63 545.
In such a selector lever arrangement for a motor vehicle with a standard power train, i.e., with an internal combustion engine mounted lengthways in front, followed by an automatic gearbox acting through a propeller shaft on a differential from which the rear wheels of the motor vehicle are driven via drive shafts, the connecting means comprises a lever arm extending downward from the horizontal transverse axle, from which a rod or Bowden cable linkage leads to the shift input element on the automatic gearbox.
In this known selector lever arrangement, a backward selection movement of the selector lever results in a forward selection movement in the connecting means, which is transmitted to the shift input element of the automatic gearbox situated in front of the selector lever arrangement. The rod or Bowden cable linkage is situated in the region of the transmission tunnel of the motor vehicle, beneath the vehicle floor.
From European Patent 0 279 087, a selector lever arrangement for a motor vehicle is known of the kind that is increasingly coming into use in recent times when a motor vehicle is equipped with front wheel drive, i.e., when a front transversely mounted internal combustion engine is followed by a transversely mounted automatic gear box. In this, the automatic gearbox is usually located beneath, or beneath and behind, the internal combustion engine, and the front wheels of the vehicle are driven through drive axles by way of a differential, which in most cases is integrated in the gearbox housing.
With such a front wheel drive arrangement, it has been found that the directions of movement occurring in a selector lever arrangement of the kind usually employed require complicated layouts for the Bowden cable linkage to the shift input element of the gearbox. The connecting means is therefore connected to or combined integrally with the lever mounting member so that the connection to the rod or Bowden cable linkage is made above the horizontal transverse axle of the selector lever, whereby the selection movements of the selector lever are transmitted without reversal of the direction of movement.
These known selector lever arrangements suffer from the disadvantage that the rod or Bowden cable linkage lies above the floor of the vehicle, so that a separate passage opening must be provided through the splashboard of the vehicle. As a result, the layout of this rod or Bowden cable linkage is made more expensive. Also, bringing the body and power train together vertically, as is usual in the final assembly, becomes more difficult.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved selector lever arrangement for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle in which reversal of the direction of movement is avoided and consequently the necessary rod or Bowden cable linkage to the shift input element of the gearbox can be laid out beneath the floor of the vehicle.